More to snafu that it seems

By The Herald

Published 1:00 pm, Thursday, November 3, 2011

To the Editor:

The schedule snafu article published on Sunday seems to indicate that school officials were somehow caught off guard by TEA and their requirement for a physics class to meet graduation requirements. The law requiring physics to be one of the four required science classes as part of the Distinguished Achievement Program (DAP) were mandated in House Bill 1, 79th Texas Legislature, Third Called Session, 2006. Specifically, changes to the graduation requirements were addressed by the State Board of Education (SBOE) in amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements, Subchapter F, Graduation Requirements, Beginning With School Year 2007-2008. (http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/taa/stanprog120607.html).

I believe that it is disingenuous for officials to claim that the law was recent and especially to tell the public that “fixing the problem was simply a matter of switching from one science class to physics.” As Mrs. (Caryl) Owens indicated, it will not be a simple task for students to make up 10 weeks of work in a subject that students often find difficult. The schools solution does not seem to recognize the required hours of instructional time required for completion of the course and a feasible plan to ensure students are taught all required material.

This article seemed indicative of situations I have encountered at PHS and of one of the reasons teachers are afraid to speak out when they witness inappropriate administrative responses. The situation reminded me of situations I encountered in the past where school officials showed a lack of concern for following TEA guidelines. While teaching an AP class at PHS, I reported concerns to officials each year for several years that enrollment processes were ignoring TEA requirements for student prerequisites for the AP class. I repeatedly requested that a prerequisite course for the AP class be provided. Federal (Carl Perkins) funding was available to help offset any cost for this course. I was told that the prerequisites were not required but merely suggestions and a prerequisite course was never included in the registration handbook. Ultimately, this meant attempting to teach a course where students have not been exposed to foundational material. This means that time must be spent on the foundational material and less time can be spent completing the actual overall requirements for the class. Although I informed administrators that all TEKS and AP requirements were not being fully met, the AP designation was maintained for the classes and no changes were made to help ensure that the problem did not repeat itself.

I highly encourage all parents to become actively involved in their students education by not relying on what school officials tell you but by monitoring their students’ courses and graduation plans closely so that they can ensure that the courses meet all requirements and are offered in an appropriate sequence.